A play of hearts
by doc boy
Summary: She loves him as a person, not as an actor in a play. Would she be able to tell him how she felt as herself before the play would make her do it as an actress? How will it effect things between them and herself if she doesn't? Read to find out...


A play of hearts

I do not own card captor Sakura

A/N: in this story the nothing card does not exist

She hadn't expected to see him there. But despite her surprise she was overjoyed. She spoke with him for a while at the playground. She was sort of tricked into inviting him over to dinner. She had a good time and it was nice having him over, but whenever she tried telling him how she felt, something would go wrong and she wouldn't be able to do it. A few days later they sat together at a ferries wheel and she was about to tell him how she felt but lost her nerve. During the next few days, Sakura grew increasingly tense. Two days before their school play, Yemazaki broke his arm in a bicycle accident and it was up to Shaoran to fill in for him. Knowing what his lines were, and how the play would end, Sakura grew very tense and very embarrassed. She eagerly wanted to tell him how she felt before the play ended.

Before long, the festival began. While Tomoyo was singing her solo, Sakura sat backstage with a rather sad look on her face. The only other person that was there was Shaoran.

 _"It's now or never…"_ she thought.

"Shaoran?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yeah Sakura?" he looked up at her.

"I have to tell you something. About how I feel about you… I… I… I lo…"

"I'm back!" cheered Tomoyo as she walked in, surprising them both. Feeling a flat vibe in the room, Tomoyo asked.

"Did I miss something here? Why are you two so quiet?"

Sakura shook her head in the negative.

"No, it's nothing, Tomoyo…"

 _"Looks like my confession is gonna have to wait… I just wish I could have told him sooner… then the ending scene of the play would feel more real and more magical…"_ thought Sakura and sighed sadly.

"I'm sorry I interrupted you Sakura…," said Tomoyo realizing what she caused as she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. She shook her head.

"No…" she muttered. Tomoyo bit her lip and after a short pause, made her finishing touches on Sakura's hair. After a few minutes of brushing, she put the comb down.

"All done." she beamed.

"Thanks Tomoyo." she said and got up to leave together with Shaoran. But before she walked out the door, Tomoyo called her back.

"Sakura?"

"Yeah?" she turned around to look at her and was surprised to see her giving her a sign she hasn't seen her do since their flute test while dealing with the time card; she made a movement of taking a deep breath and easing up, signaling to her not to worry too much for now about the failed confession. Sakura understood the message; smiled, and give her a firm nod.

While Shaoran waited behind the curtain, Sakura was preforming her act, when it has his time to shine he approached her.

"I hate wars so much…," she said sadly to audience.

"So do I." he said near her and she turned around to face him.

"And who are you?"

"It is not appropriate to ask such questions in a masked ball. My servants insisted I go to this ball because I tend to lock myself up."

Sakura smiled at the coincidence.

"So do I. That's why I'm here too."

Shaoran chuckled.

"Us tending to lock ourselves up and finding war distasteful… we seem to have quite a bit in common…" he said and reached out his arm.

"May I have this dance?"

"I'm not much of a good dancer…" she said shyly.

"Nor am I… just go with it…" he whispered in her ear. Sakura wasn't sure if that was only the prince talking or Shaoran as well.

"I don't want to step on your toes."

"Then I shall do my best to avoid them…" he said and laced his arm around her as they slowly began to dance. As soon as they did, Sakura felt this enormous sense of euphoria as they slow danced together. It turns out, as himself; he really is a good dancer. They danced pleasantly together as her brother watched from the side in frustration. Despite knowing their roles had a conflict ahead, Sakura's emotions got the best of her and she rested her head in his chest as they danced.

 _"Hey, that's not in the script…"_ he whispered. She blinked and after a few seconds raised her head back up.

"Sorry Shaoran I guess I got a little carried away there…" she said with a blush on her face as he smiled…

Time passes…

"You mean to tell me, you're the prince from our neighboring country? The one we're at war with?"

Shaoran got down on his knees and spoke.

"Please princess, wipe off your tears of sorrow; a smile suits you much better… I must say that I have fallen in love with you…"

This is where it got painful for Sakura as a person and not as an actress. Unfortunately, for her, she could not show it. She sat back down on the bench.

"I… I… I can't do it. I cannot return this feeling…" she ran towards him and gazed into his eyes.

"Please, please… forget about me… forget everything you feel about me…" she wept and ran off…

The lone prince stood there sadly and sighed. After a few short minutes, he turned around and walked away. With that, the second act of the play has ended. During the quick recess, Sakura and Shaoran avoided each other. Sakura couldn't bear to talk to him now. Not until it was over and Shaoran could feel her destress and knew now was not the time to talk to her about it. Then the third act began. In this act, Sakura gave a monologue about the ensuing war between their two nations.

"It seems… it seems… that despite all our efforts… our nations have paid the ultimate price and went into war with each other. Many young warriors would lose their lives. The only way… the only way to end it is for me to talk to the prince once more. But to do that… to do that… I must tell him the truth…," she said and let her head fall downward and the third act ended. With the fourth and final act just minutes away, Sakura hurried backstage to douse her throat with several cups of water and wipe the sweat off her forehead. She was aching to tell Shaoran now how she felt, but it would not be the appropriate time. She sighed heavily, leaned against the stage wall, dropped her towel, and looked down sadly. Beside her, someone picked it up and gave it back to her.

"You can do this Sakura. Once this is done, you'll have your chance to do it properly…," said a girl's voice cryptically, and Sakura looked up to see Tomoyo. She smiled at her.

"Thanks Tomoyo," she said and brought her friend into a hug. Once parted it was time to go on with the show. Sakura sat on the bench on the balcony they were on before and Shaoran kneeled in front of her. When the lights went on, Sakura could feel her throat dry out and her lungs cramp. Shaoran looked at her with concern as they carried out the final part of the play.

"What is it that you summoned me here for today, princess?"

Sakura's eyes widened, her heart beating so fast it threatened to leap out of her rib cage and into the sky.

"Truth is… truth is… I summoned you here to tell you truth. I know this will sound selfish. But I must tell you how I feel about you. But please know that I tell you this only because I want to, but I know it's the only way to make peace between our nations…" she said as Shaoran listened.

"What is it that you wish to tell me princess?"

Sakura took a deep breath, her heart speeding out of control.

"The truth is… the truth is… I love you my dear prince. More than anything in this world, you are the one my heart desires…" she said and began to weep and looked away. Shaoran grabbed her palm in his hand and rubbed it slightly. She turned to look at him.

"I love you too princess…," he said happily and pulled them both to her feet and they gazed into each other's eyes.

"Does this mean… there could be peace between us now?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes. Peace has been restored." He smiled and she smiled too.

"I'm glad." She said and leaned forward towards him while her heart beat so fast, it threated to overexert itself. Slowly but surely, she leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips while holding his shoulders. Despite being her first kiss, Sakura felt only a small amount of happiness and euphoria because it wasn't real to her. That's what made the last part of the play so hard for her; that she would share her first kiss with the one she loved, but it wouldn't be out of love. At least not their love; the one their shared for each other, as people and not actors. It wasn't real to her and that pained her very much. When the kiss was over, she rested her head in his shoulders and repeated those last lines.

"I'm glad." She said once again and with that, the play has ended. The crowd got up to its feet, and cheered and roared. Everyone bowed happily, yet Sakura seemed rather gloomy for this kind of situation. Only a select few knew why…

Afterward, Sakura went backstage to get her stuff. She walked into Shaoran on the way out. He was about to say something, but Sakura couldn't bear it any longer and darted into the street with a sob and tears in her eyes, much to a very surprised crowd. Shaoran ran after her. Despite being very athletic, Sakura didn't run very far. She stopped at Penguin Park and sat down one of the benches. Shaoran caught up with her, sat down beside her, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as she wept.

"Are you okay?" he asked as she sobbed.

"I didn't want it to happen like this…," she sobbed.

"You didn't want what to happen like this?" asked Shaoran, even though he knew the answer to that question, but also knew she needed some to listen to her right now and he knew she wanted it to be him…

Sakura sniffed and then sighed. She wiped her tears off, and turned to look at him.

"Listen to me Shaoran. What I said earlier in that play about how I feel about you… that was not only me acting; it's true. I do love you. I love you more than anything; and the idea that I had to tell you how I feel and to share my first kiss with you but it wasn't really out of love, MY love for you, causes me enormous pain and sadness. It just ruins it and takes all the magic out of it…"

Shaoran maintained his grip around her shoulder and rubbed it ever so slightly.

"You know Sakura, in some ways, if it wasn't out of real love, then it wasn't your first kiss at all. It doesn't count…," he said with a soft smile.

Sakura gulped and smiled too. She looked at him and peered into his eyes to meet his smile with her own.

"Shaoran…" she said as he extended two fingers to wipe off the tears from her cheeks. He cupped her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around his neck, as she they leant in for their first real kiss as a couple.

This time, Sakura felt so much happiness and euphoria, it made her feel tingly all over and she had goosebumps all over her body, as the happiness and exhilaration of the kiss whisked her away and made the pain and sadness dissolve away; and for that brief moment, everything felt perfect…

Once they parted, Sakura gazed into his eyes as she hung in his embrace. She smiled sweetly at him.

"Thanks for cheering me up Shaoran. It was worth the wait, for the real kiss and confession after all…"

The boy in front of her smiled.

"I'm glad." He said happily, as they kissed once more and separated as she rested her head in his chest.

"I'm glad." He said once more.

"Me too…" she whispered happily as they drifted into a nice and peaceful sleep in each other's arms, happily to be a couple and that there was a good resolution to this love story after all…

The end…

Whew, that was a long one. So, I have one more Sakura and Shaoran story in store for you people. It's a special occasion too. It's time for the big one. The time I write my two hundredth story here on fanfiction. So stay tuned as I finish doing much deserved justice to the second movie and to the card captor Sakura anime…

Stay tuned…

Also, due to the immense effort put into this story, reviews would be most appreciated…

Peace out…


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